Chicago Awards $13.4 Million Electric Garbage Truck Contract To Motiv Power Systems

Chicago city streets are set to be the first in the nation with all-electric, zero-emission garbage trucks thanks to the $13.4 million dollar contract granted the San Francisco Bay Area startup Motiv Power Systems.

The scalability and flexibility of the Motiv electric Powertrain Control System (ePCS) made the company the most cost-effective choice for the exclusive five-year contract. The ePCS uses off-the-shelf batteries and motors, which can be mixed and matched to fit the size of the electric truck needed. The system can handle EV trucks from medium-duty to Class 8 heavy-duty, weighing 15,000 lbs-52,000 lbs. Research suggests the ePCS design approach cuts operating costs by fifty percent over an eight-year period. With its medium-duty pilot shuttle, the company reduced operating cost from eighty cents per mile to ten cents per mile.

In total, the City of Chicago has 600 garbage trucks in operation.

The company has been validating its system since March 2012 with an all-electric pilot bus. Funded by a grant from the California Energy Commission, the twenty passenger bus contains five battery packs (125 kWh) which can provide a range of over 120 miles on a single charge.

The EV refuse trucks planned for Chicago will use the same system as the pilot bus, include a larger motor, and ten battery packs. The garbage trucks will also use an electric motor to drive the hydraulics system. The refuse trucks will weigh 52,000 lbs and have a range of more than sixty miles, with a total energy storage of 200 kWh.

The ePCS is designed to be assembled by the existing diesel chassis infrastructure already established throughout the world. The company will work with its partner, Detroit Chassis, to install the system on to a standard refuse chassis. Loadmaster will provide the truck bodies.

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